Book Review : Overprotected by Jennifer Laurens

Overprotected
by Jennifer Laurens

Product Details

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: Grove Creek Publishing, LLC (February 5, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193396300X
• ISBN-13: 978-1933963006
• Available at: Amazon / The Book Depository
  

Ashlyn: A lonely society princess living in New York City.

Daddy hired you to be my bodyguard.

Colin: Childhood enemy, now her protector.

Daddy thought I’d be safe. He thought I’d never fall in love. He thought he could keep me forever.

Charles: obsessed with keeping her safe, keeping her his, he hires the one person he knows she could never fall in love with: Colin.

Daddy was wrong.

What would you feel if you were protected like a princess, with bodyguards eying your every move, not unable to make friends like a normal person? Stranded. Lonely. Depressed. It's what Ashyln felt all along.

Unable to overcome the trauma of her daughter's kidnap when she was a child, Charles vowed to do everything he can to keep her safe. He hired bodyguards to keep an eye on Ashlyn, restricted her every move, banned her from a normal social life. Unable to sense her daughter's trapped feeling, he was sure that what he did was right. He was merely protecting her, wasn't it?

Jennifer Lauren's Overprotected is a book that, while quite unbelievable, still manages to charm me. The theme of 'a bird in a golden cage' which she adeptly applied to this story is a convincing approach. The words flow smoothly, and I especially enjoyed the parts where she described Ashlyn's talent with the piano.

The characters felt real and I could relate to their actions, especially Charles. Ashlyn's mother Fiona was a sympathetic creature who hungered for her husband's love and attention. She even tried to ignite her husband's jealousy by faking to develop a romantic interest for Colin, which repulsed Ashlyn.

Overprotected is definitely one of Jennifer Laurens' better novels. I like this much better than Falling For Romeo. However, my favourite is still Heavenly.

Rating:

Notes: This book contains some kissing fantasies on Ashlyn's part, a real kiss scene between Colin and Ashlyn, a clubbing / partying scene and an attempted (but failed) rape scene.

Jennifer Laurens, aka JM Warwick was born and raised in Southern California and her hometown of Palos Verdes Estates flavors her books: A Season of Eden and An Open Vein. She doesn't limit herself to writing one genre, and was the first to author four romance novels centered around the popular sport of ballroom dancing. Now, she focuses on writing young adult. She has YA novels published under her YA romance name of Jennifer Laurens: Falling for Romeo, Magic Hands, Nailed and the Heavenly series: Heavenly ( 2009) Penitence (2010) and Absolution (2010) A Season of Eden and Overprotected. Two are under her other YA author name: JM Warwick - A Season of Eden and An Open Vein. Jennifer lives in Utah and has 6 children.

Website | Blog

Book Review : Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens

Heavenly (Heavenly, #1) by Jennifer Laurens

Product Details

• Paperback: 294 pages
• Publisher: Grove Creek Publishing (August 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933963840
• ISBN-13: 978-1933963846

I met someone who changed everything. Matthias. My autistic sister's guardian angel. Honest. Inspiring. Funny. Hot. And immortal. That was the problem. What could I do? I did what any other girl would do-I fell in love with him. Zoe's sister darts in front of cars. Her brother's a pothead. Her parents are so overwhelmed; they don't see Zoe lost in her broken life. Zoe escapes the only way she knows how: partying. Matthias, a guardian sent from Heaven, watches over Zoe's autistic sister. After Zoe is convinced he's legit, angel and lost girl come together in a love that changes destiny. But Heaven on Earth can't last forever.

Zoe is falling apart. She lives the life of a walking corpse. On the outside, she looks just like any normal teenager, but on the inside, she feels empty. Abandoned. Her sister Abria is an Autistic child who has speaking disorders and the attention level of 5 seconds. Her brother Luke is drowning himself in drugs. To run away from the harsh realities, she parties and searches for casual relationships.

But everything changes when she meets the mysterious Matthias, who, according to himself, is a guardian sent to look after Abria. She feels happy, joyful and loved for the first time since Abria's Autism diagnosis. However, she seems to be the only person who can see Matthias. It does not take too long for her to realize that she is in love with him. Or is it?

I did not know what to expect before started reading Heavenly. But it turned out to be quite good as I could totally relate to Zoe's mental condition, behaviour and thoughts. I did not see her as an undignified teen, but rather a poor girl who was suffering from stress and hungered for the attention and care of her parents. After observing the difficulties faced by the family to take care of little Abria in turns, even though I knew deep down that what Zoe and Luke did was wrong, I couldn't help sympathizing them. It's not entirely their fault to crumble when they had to shoulder such huge responsibilities. But still, according to the social norms of the society, they were not entirely blameless either.

The presence of Matthias really lighted up the whole story. Zoe's tainted soul now yearned for forgiveness and goodness. She started to change, little by little, towards the better. And little Abria seemed to be still and quiet like a normal little girl when Matthias is present. Zoe started to learn about love, compassion and forgiveness. She saw through Luke's current self, only to discover the lost, helpless little boy within. It was a great experience to read about a family that holds on to each other in many ways, in which love reigns over all other things.

In a nutshell, Heavenly is simply lovely to read.

Rating:

More about the series:
Heavenly The Book

Available on:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | The Book Depository

Jennifer, aka JM Warwick was born and raised in Southern California and her hometown of Palos Verdes Estates flavors her books: A Season of Eden and An Open Vein. She doesn't limit herself to writing one genre, and was the first to author four romance novels centered around the popular sport of ballroom dancing. Now, she focuses on writing young adult. She has YA novels published under her YA romance name of Jennifer Laurens: Falling for Romeo, Magic Hands, Nailed and the Heavenly series: Heavenly ( 2009) Penitence (2010) and Absolution (2010) A Season of Eden and Overprotected. Two are under her other YA author name: JM Warwick - A Season of Eden and An Open Vein. Jennifer lives in Utah and has 6 children.

Website | Blog

Currently Reading... #5

This book is my birthday gift from the generous Jennifer Laurens, a YA author who has penned 7 books so far. Her latest book is Overprotected, which will be published on April 29th 2011 by Grove Creek Publishing.

Heavenly (Heavenly, #1) by Jennifer Laurens

I met someone who changed everything. Matthias. My autistic sister's guardian angel. Honest. Inspiring. Funny. Hot. And immortal. That was the problem. What could I do? I did what any other girl would do-I fell in love with him. Zoe's sister darts in front of cars. Her brother's a pothead. Her parents are so overwhelmed; they don't see Zoe lost in her broken life. Zoe escapes the only way she knows how: partying. Matthias, a guardian sent from Heaven, watches over Zoe's autistic sister. After Zoe is convinced he's legit, angel and lost girl come together in a love that changes destiny. But Heaven on Earth can't last forever.

************

S0 far, I really enjoyed this book! It's so good that I read 100+ pages even though I would be having an exam on the next day. Review coming soon. You can also check out Jennifer's Blog to enter her weekly giveaways.

Book Review : Falling For Romeo by Jennifer Laurens

Falling For Romeo by Jennifer Laurens

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Grove Creek Publishing; 2 edition (October 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933963948
• ISBN-13: 978-1933963945
• Available at Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository
• Source: Won from Lisa Faber's blog (Bookworm Lisa)
  

John can have any girl he wants. Jennifer's never been kissed.
Everybody thinks he's perfect. She's got issues with pride and jealousy.
They were best friends-once. Now, they're playing Romeo and Juliet. Virgin lips Jennifer must have her first kiss on stage with John, the guy every girl in school wants. The pressure and tension build along with each staged kiss. Both are s...moreJohn can have any girl he wants. Jennifer's never been kissed.

Everybody thinks he's perfect. She's got issues with pride and jealousy.

They were best friends-once. Now, they're playing Romeo and Juliet. Virgin lips Jennifer must have her first kiss on stage with John, the guy every girl in school wants. The pressure and tension build along with each staged kiss. Both are shocked when feelings bloom. Can either tell which kisses are real and which are for show?

Falling for Romeo is a story about a boy and a girl who are too proud to express their feelings for one another, which is quite similar to the situation of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice.

John is the most popular boy in school. He participates in a lot of activities, and in most of them he's the leader. He is Jennifer's next-door neighbour, and they were once best friends.

Jennifer is the most popular girl in school. You may think it is strange that she is not with John. Actually, she does have some special feelings for John, but she just can't convince herself to admit it.

This novel is short and sweet. There are chemistry and sparks between John and Jennifer, but not much happened. I think the plot needs some improvement, because I only observe John and Jennifer's love-hate relationship throughout the novel. I still liked it, though, because it is romantic in a nice way.

I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy a cute love story. Those who like to read chick-lit novels will also find this book entertaining.

Rating:

Notes: Falling for Romeo has some kissing scenes, but there's nothing overboard.

Thanks to Lisa Faber from Bookworm Lisa for sending this book all the way to Malaysia to me. *Hugs!*

Jennifer Laurens aka JM Warwick was born and raised in Southern California and her hometown of Palos Verdes Estates flavors her books: A Season of Eden and An Open Vein. She doesn't limit herself to writing one genre, and was the first to author four romance novels centered around the popular sport of ballroom dancing. Now, she focuses on writing young adult. She has four YA novels published under her YA romance name of Jennifer Laurens: Falling for Romeo, Magic Hands, Nailed and the Heavenly series: Heavenly ( 2009) Penitence (2010) and Absolution (2010). Two are under her other YA author name: JM Warwick - A Season of Eden and An Open Vein. Jennifer lives in Utah and has 6 children.

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